The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the massive defection of its members to the All Progressive Party (APC). Reports indicated that over 300 party chieftains have left for APC and other parties in the last 12 months.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba made this condemnation in an interview with newsmen on Monday.
The aggrieved members who left the PDP between February 2024 and February 2025, all mentioned the crisis at both the state and national levels as the rationale for their defection.
However, Ologunagba explained that the defections to the ruling party APC were not due to internal crisis as claimed by the defectors. He blamed the large-scale defections on economic hardship, claiming that the APC enticed the former leaders of the party.
Ologunagba noted that every party including APC experiences one internal crisis or the other. He added that the PDP’s situation is more obvious because of the public interest in the party.
Furthermore, the PDP’s secretary stressed that whatever challenges faced by the PDP have been responded to and actively worked on, noting that there are still loyal members in the party.
He concluded that the current government is intent on making the APC the sole political party, leaving no room for opposition. Unfortunately, members who lack strong resolve will continue to defect.
Meanwhile, a PDP NEC member and former deputy publicity Secretary, Diran Odeyemi warned that the earlier the party addresses these challenges, the better it is for its future.
He also noted that some members left because of these issues and emphasized the urgent need for all leaders of the opposition party to work together to resolve the issue.
Another PDP chieftain defects to APC in Delta
Just yesterday, another member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, Dr Chris Okobah defected to the APC.
This is barely two weeks after the party lost a sitting senator, Senator Ned Nwoko to the All Progressives Congress.
Okobah, a founding PDP member, switched to the APC on Sunday with thousands of supporters, including former PDP treasurer Mr. Justus Elue, at Ward 2, Onicha Ugbo in Aniocha North of the state.
The former PDP member stated that his decision to join the APC was to align with the party’s commitment to bring development and progress to the Onicha-Ugbo Community.
Additionally, it is an opportunity for him to tackle the problem of unemployment facing the unemployed youths in the community.
He urged community members to support the ruling party and take advantage of the opportunities provided by Senator Ned Nwoko for economic empowerment.
However, this has raised concerns about the efforts being made by the party’s leaders to prevent more members from defecting, and the future of the main opposition party in Nigerian politics.
